Clerkship Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi TLS, I have questions. Clerkship questions. I am a soon-to-graduate 3L who is very interested in clerking, specifically at the district court level, for all the usual reasons. Great experience for aspiring litigators/legal nerds, career-long gold star on the resume, mentorship from a highly accomplished attorney, etc. etc. Long story short, I have applied very broadly over the last ~9 months and finally snagged an interview with a judge in what some might call flyover country. It's in a major city, not out in the boonies or anything like that, and with a judge whose career experience is very relevant to my interests. However, it is very far from the market where I eventually want to practice. Enter my questions.

I am heading to a V20 firm in a major market this fall. The clerkship would start in 2024, so I would work for a year and then head off to clerk.

First question: is it generally a safe bet to expect my firm to welcome me back post-clerkship, even if I'm clerking in flyover country? Am I likely to get some side-eye for clerking in a secondary market across the country?

Second question: if I did not get welcomed back (or if I wanted to shop around), would I generally still have pretty good job prospects in major markets? I have seen some conflicting views on this topic on this board, and would welcome some additional perspectives/anecdotes. Assume I am otherwise competitive for biglaw jobs (i.e., top of the class at a T50 school, law review, etc.).

Third question: if I do go off and clerk, when do I tell my firm? I don't want to spring it on them at the last moment, but I also am a little worried that if everyone knows I'm leaving to clerk in a year, there will be less focus on my development compared to other juniors and that I will consequently get less than great assignments/disproportionately more scutwork. Is that an unfounded fear? Is there a standard timeframe for when to give notice in these types of situations?

Thanks ahead of time for all of your thoughts. Any other unsolicited advice is welcome.

[Anonymous User]

1. Yes, you will very likely be welcomed back. And no, no one will look down on you for not clerking somewhere super fancy outside of the TLS bubble.

2. Your job prospects will be the same as they were coming out of law school.

3. I have heard that those who go to a firm for a year before clerking are treated very well. The logic is that there is no reason to put you on big matters if you're going to leave in a year and take all that accumulated knowledge with you. And your firm wants you to return, so they don't want to scare you away with long hours. It will be a chill year.

[Anonymous User]

1. Yes, you will very likely be welcomed back. And no, no one will look down on you for not clerking somewhere super fancy outside of the TLS bubble.

2. Your job prospects will be the same as they were coming out of law school.

3. I have heard that those who go to a firm for a year before clerking are treated very well. The logic is that there is no reason to put you on big matters if you're going to leave in a year and take all that accumulated knowledge with you. And your firm wants you to return, so they don't want to scare you away with long hours. It will be a chill year.

I agree with all this except number 2. I think your job prospects will be a little better. The clerkship isn't going to catapult you into another position you were not qualified for, but I do think—especially in five years time—you'll be better off having clerked than not having clerked. Exception here being maybe if you're partner or bust at said V20. In that case, you may want all the time you can manage to build connections and relationships at the firm to set yourself up for partner.

[Chokenhauer]

1. Yes, you will very likely be welcomed back. And no, no one will look down on you for not clerking somewhere super fancy outside of the TLS bubble.

2. Your job prospects will be the same as they were coming out of law school.

3. I have heard that those who go to a firm for a year before clerking are treated very well. The logic is that there is no reason to put you on big matters if you're going to leave in a year and take all that accumulated knowledge with you. And your firm wants you to return, so they don't want to scare you away with long hours. It will be a chill year.

I agree with all this except number 2. I think your job prospects will be a little better. The clerkship isn't going to catapult you into another position you were not qualified for, but I do think—especially in five years time—you'll be better off having clerked than not having clerked. Exception here being maybe if you're partner or bust at said V20. In that case, you may want all the time you can manage to build connections and relationships at the firm to set yourself up for partner.

I agree. There’s a tendency online to overcorrect the commonly understood view that clerking makes firms roll out the red carpet. It’s not entirely true, but I’ve had firms actively recruit me because of my clerkships that would have never given me the time of day fresh out of law school.

[Anonymous User]

1. Yes, you will very likely be welcomed back. And no, no one will look down on you for not clerking somewhere super fancy outside of the TLS bubble.

2. Your job prospects will be the same as they were coming out of law school.

3. I have heard that those who go to a firm for a year before clerking are treated very well. The logic is that there is no reason to put you on big matters if you're going to leave in a year and take all that accumulated knowledge with you. And your firm wants you to return, so they don't want to scare you away with long hours. It will be a chill year.

I agree with all this except number 2. I think your job prospects will be a little better. The clerkship isn't going to catapult you into another position you were not qualified for, but I do think—especially in five years time—you'll be better off having clerked than not having clerked. Exception here being maybe if you're partner or bust at said V20. In that case, you may want all the time you can manage to build connections and relationships at the firm to set yourself up for partner.

spot on. If anything, I'll do you one further - your job prospects will be *somewhat* better. Agreed with other posters that the backlash has gone too far, we have to remember what the backlash was against. It was against the idea that a district court clerkship massive improves job prospects. The right answer is that it somewhat improves prospects.

I was already qualified for biglaw, I was originally at a typical V20 firm. But I found my flyover clerkship in a Denver/Seattle type allowed me to "upgrade" and go to a Williams & Connolly, if we're judging by selectivity, which I wouldn't have been able to get during 2L OCI

I agree. There’s a tendency online to overcorrect the commonly understood view that clerking makes firms roll out the red carpet. It’s not entirely true, but I’ve had firms actively recruit me because of my clerkships that would have never given me the time of day fresh out of law school.

exact same here. Not a crazy jump, but an appreciable increase in marketability is what the typical litigator at a v20 will get from a "flyover" clerkship, at least if it's in a well known city

[Chokenhauer]

1. Yes, you will very likely be welcomed back. And no, no one will look down on you for not clerking somewhere super fancy outside of the TLS bubble.

2. Your job prospects will be the same as they were coming out of law school.

3. I have heard that those who go to a firm for a year before clerking are treated very well. The logic is that there is no reason to put you on big matters if you're going to leave in a year and take all that accumulated knowledge with you. And your firm wants you to return, so they don't want to scare you away with long hours. It will be a chill year.

I agree with all this except number 2. I think your job prospects will be a little better. The clerkship isn't going to catapult you into another position you were not qualified for, but I do think—especially in five years time—you'll be better off having clerked than not having clerked. Exception here being maybe if you're partner or bust at said V20. In that case, you may want all the time you can manage to build connections and relationships at the firm to set yourself up for partner.

spot on. If anything, I'll do you one further - your job prospects will be *somewhat* better. Agreed with other posters that the backlash has gone too far, we have to remember what the backlash was against. It was against the idea that a district court clerkship massive improves job prospects. The right answer is that it somewhat improves prospects.

I was already qualified for biglaw, I was originally at a typical V20 firm. But I found my flyover clerkship in a Denver/Seattle type allowed me to "upgrade" and go to a Williams & Connolly, if we're judging by selectivity, which I wouldn't have been able to get during 2L OCI

I agree. There’s a tendency online to overcorrect the commonly understood view that clerking makes firms roll out the red carpet. It’s not entirely true, but I’ve had firms actively recruit me because of my clerkships that would have never given me the time of day fresh out of law school.

exact same here. Not a crazy jump, but an appreciable increase in marketability is what the typical litigator at a v20 will get from a "flyover" clerkship, at least if it's in a well known city

Well said (although I don’t tend to view Denver/Seattle as “flyover,” compared to where I clerked).

[Anonymous User]

A district court clerkship basically always looks better than just an additional junior year at a firm. This is particularly the case if that person will be practicing a few years at a firm in addition to clerking

[Anonymous User]

OP here, thanks all for your input.

Happy to say I got the job! Any thoughts on when exactly I should bring it up with my firm? Also, any thoughts on whether/to what extent I should stay in contact with the Judge and current clerks before the term begins?

[Anonymous User]

OP here, thanks all for your input.

Happy to say I got the job! Any thoughts on when exactly I should bring it up with my firm? Also, any thoughts on whether/to what extent I should stay in contact with the Judge and current clerks before the term begins?

Congrats! Contact with judge and current clerks is kind of up to you - it’s not particularly necessary, although like a holiday card or occasional kind of check in is perfectly fine. When I clerked the next year’s person came by chambers once over the holidays (for someone who hadn’t previously known the judge/wasn’t local) to a few times (someone who had interned for the judge and was local).